VOA慢速英语2015 哥伦比亚与美国公司因沉没的珍宝发生争执（在线收听）

AS IT IS 2015-12-09 Colombia, US Company Dispute Over Sunken Treasure 哥伦比亚与美国公司因沉没的珍宝发生争执

一艘西班牙船只附近海底发现了黄金宝藏，目前就其所有权问题引发了一场轰动。

The ship, or galleon, named the San Jose could be worth billions of dollars in lost treasure.

这艘称作圣·约瑟的船，或者叫做加利恩帆船失去的财富价值数十亿美金。

The Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History says it discovered the sunken wreck.But an American company says it discovered the ship 30 years ago and owns much of the loot.

哥伦比亚人类学和历史研究所认为是哥伦比亚发现了这艘沉船。然而， 美国公司则表明他们早在30年之前就发现这艘船了，大部分财富都应是他们所属。

Colombian President Juan Manual Santos said Saturday that the ship was found by an international team of experts. He would not reveal the ship’s location.But the ship is not located where the U.S. company said it was in the early 1980s, he said.

周六哥伦比亚总统桑托斯说，一支国际专家小组发现了船只残骸。他不会透露船只地理位置。但是这艘船并不位于美国公司上个世纪八十年代早期声称的位置。

The sunken treasure includes jewelry and gold coins and could be the largest ever found.Experts believe the cargo could be worth billions of dollars if recovered.

这艘沉船中的宝藏有各类珠宝饰物和金币，是目前发现的最大的宝藏。专家坚信，若货物能够打捞上来，它们将值数十亿美金。

An American company called Sea Search Armada says it found the wreck in 1982.Courts in the United States, Colombia and Spain have looked at the dispute.

美国一家称为海上搜索舰队的公司说，他们在1982年就已发现船只残骸。美国、哥伦比亚与西班牙法庭已经开始调查这次纠纷。

Maritime law usually gives the discoverer of a shipwreck half of the value of the cargo.But in 1984, Colombia passed a law that gave the company only 5 percent of the value.

海商法通常给予发现遇难船只的公司等同于货物价值的一半的奖励。然而，1984年，哥伦比亚通过一项法律，法律规定，只奖励公司发现货物价值的5%。

Colombia’s Supreme Court says the cargo must be recovered before it can decide who owns the ship.

哥伦比亚最高法院称，必须先打捞货物上来，再决定它的所属权。

Santos said Colombia’s claim would be protected. He said a new museum will be built in Cartagena to show the items recovered from the ship.

桑托斯称，哥伦比亚的索赔将受到保护。卡塔赫纳将建造一个新的博物馆，用来陈列从这艘船里打捞的物品。

The navy is closely guarding the shipwreck.

海军严密监守着这艘遇难船。

The government says the video and pictures prove the sunken ship is the San Jose.

政府认为，视频和照片证明这艘沉船一定是圣·约瑟。

The San Jose was attacked by British warships and sunk June 8, 1708.Almost all of the 600 people on the ship died. Experts say they believe it was carrying jewels and millions of gold coins.Those jewels and coins were taken from Spanish colonies.

圣·约瑟在1708年6月8日遭到英国战舰的袭击。船上600个成员几乎全部遇难。专家们坚信，这艘船当时正携带着大量珠宝和数百万金币。而这些珠宝金币都是从西班牙殖民地夺走的。

Spain used the money to wage war against Britain.

西班牙用这些钱来向英国发动战争。

No humans have reached the site.Special undersea vehicles took pictures of the San Jose that show its cannons and other cargo.Santos said it would take many years to recover the ship’s contents.

目前还没有人到达残骸位置。特殊的水下仪器拍摄了圣·约瑟的照片，照片显示了它的大炮和其它货物。桑托斯说，打捞船上的物品需要耗费数年。

“This is not only about raising a bunch of shiny gold coins,”said Justin Leidwanger, a maritime history expert, to the Wall Street Journal.“It’s a discovery of extraordinary cultural and historical importance.”

“这不仅仅是打捞大量闪闪发光的金币，”海洋历史专家贾斯汀·莱德万格对《华尔街日报》说道。“而是发觉非凡的文化与历史重要性的一次探索。”

Words in This Story

make waves – expression to cause a disturbance or controversy     

loot – n. informal money

location – n. a place or position

maritime – adj. of or relating to sailing on the sea or doing business (such as trading) by sea

site – n. a place where something important has happened

cannon – n. a large gun that shoots heavy metal or stone balls and that was once a common military weapon

cargo – n. something that is carried from one place to another by boat, airplane, etc.

bunch – n. informal a large amount; a lot (mostly US)